


First impressions are Important

by Ereana



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Atsumu doesn't make a great first impression, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, High School, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ereana/pseuds/Ereana
Summary: Atsumu has always been told he doesn't make a great first impression. Which is fine, why should he care?When the person he's meeting is his soulmate he finds a reason to care.Hinata finds a reason to label Miya Atsumu a jerk and is content not to rethink his opinion.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu
Comments: 23
Kudos: 412





	First impressions are Important

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KennedyDreyar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennedyDreyar/gifts).



“I absolutely hate playin’ against people who suck.”

Hinata’s eyebrow twitched and the beginnings of a familiar anger started to bubble up inside. Again and again, there was always someone who looked at him like that; like he was a waste of space on the court taking a position from a more skilled player. Miya Atsumu was just the latest in a long list of names.

“Yeah sorry about that.”

Hinata saw red for a second, he’d thought at least Kageyama would defend him given their partnership.

“Why are you apologizing? Kaegyama, you jerk!” He yelled.

“But I don’t suck.” Seriously it was like he turned invisible. 

“Yes, I’m very aware of that.” Miya Atsumu, who Hinata firmly put in the ‘annoying jerk’ category, smiled at Kageyama. He must have been one of those elite players who went to the all-japan camp, that would explain why he’d come over to speak to Kageyama.

_ Always Kageyama. _

Which...okay it was a little cool that he was at the camp and hadn’t coach Ukai said he was the number one setter in Japan? That was a little awesome...maybe. But it didn’t give him an excuse for being rude.

“Though he sucks.” 

This was what betrayal felt like didn’t it? Hinata had thought  hoped that after his time at Shiratorizawa he’d done enough to prove himself a decent player to the team, not just a special weapon or something that Kageyama could wield with ease.

“How can you say that?” A little acknowledgement, that was all he wanted.

“But he’s not weak, so I think we’ll be okay.” Kageyama says in his usual flat tone, it’s the tone he uses when something is completely obvious  — to him anyway — and the knot of hurt in Hinata’s chest unravels. He pushes back memories of the setter refusing to toss to him, when Kageyama didn’t think he could contribute to victory, and shoots him a thumbs up.

The rival setter, the one that shall not be named, narrows his eyes and turns to Hinata. The look is more intimidating than he’d like to admit. It’s nothing like facing Ushijima in that last set when it had felt like the other player was trying to crush Hinata into the ground, but it’s still got that aura of someone strong. This guy is another volleyball monster, the best setter in Japan.

Hinata can’t wait to beat him.

Even with Kageyama’s sort-of defence of his skills it still stings to be brushed aside like that. Sometimes he wonders if it will ever stop. He returns Miya Atsumu’s stare with his own glare, willing all his desire to win and anger into one look.

He doesn’t know why he feels so strongly about this. He’s used to being brushed off and ignored, at least by people who haven’t played against him before, well used to standing in the shadow of Kageyama’s genius and Tsukishima’s cunning.

Maybe it’s been one too many times.

Maybe he had hoped that being on a team that made it to Nationals would stop the looks and whispers.

Maybe he feels it not only as an insult to him but also to the ones he defeated to stand here.

Maybe he’s just keyed up for an important match.

Whatever the reason Hinata looks at Miya Atsumu and decides that he doesn’t like him, and that he won’t change his mind no matter how good a player he is.

Hinata is so caught up in his own silent vow to forever see Atsumu as nothing more than an annoying rude guy that he fails to notice the tingling in his palm. The warmth that spreads across his right hand as the tattoo of a fox curled around a sun begins to fill with colour for the first time in sixteen years.

Somewhere fate smiles. She’s always had to work twice as hard when it came to Hinata Shouyou.

“Hey Hinata, you’ve been to the bathroom right? If not, do you want someone to go with you?” Tanaka’s voice cuts through his thoughts and he turns with an embarrassed blush on his cheek to loudly protest his competence in going to the bathroom alone. Again, he doesn’t notice the brilliant oranges, yellows and reds that thrum with life.

He thinks he hears a strangled wheeze behind him but he ignores it to carry on with his warm up. If it’s Kageyama he’s too obsessed with volleyball to die before a match so he doesn’t need to worry. If it’s Miya he’s a jerk and Hinata doesn’t care  — well he’d care about missing the opportunity to play against him but that was about it.

Hinata hopes he does play.

He’s going to prove to the guy exactly why he’s standing on the court with the rest of his team.

The moment Hinata meets his soulmate he doesn’t realise it, too annoyed and excited for the match that he’d later look back on as one of the best of his high school career.

The moment Atsumu meets his soulmate he only realises it after insulting him and watching him walk away as his palm explodes in colour.

_ Shit _

* * *

_ Shit _

He’s walking away. The  cute short boy who looks like he belongs on a middle school team is storming away and any words to call out to him get stuck in Atsumu’s throat as he feels the tell-tale tingling on his left palm. It takes half a second to look down and see the colours spread across his skin, another half second to realise what it means, and then a full two seconds to understand that there’s only one person it could be.

The boy Atsumu had essentially called a scrub and questioned his right to be here all in one sentence.

Truly he’d outdone himself this time.

Tobio mumbles a goodbye and returns to his team but Atsumu doesn’t respond. How can he when his literal other half is stomping away from him after shooting Atsumu a look that clearly telegraphed how the other boy felt about him. 

It wasn’t a nice look.

“Watcha doin’ over there? If Kita-san sees you harassing another team again there’s gonna be trouble.” Gin comes up behind him and clasps him on the back. Atsumu lets himself be pulled back to his side of the court, eyes locked on the number ten shirt that his soulmate is wearing.

His soulmate.

The little jibe he’d made had only been partly serious. He’d watched the tapes, he knows full well how dangerous the little ginger haired player could be. The thought of seeing that freak quick in person had sent a thrill down his spine, though it was equally clear from the tapes that the tiny number ten had a patchy skill set at best so it was difficult to judge how big a threat he’d really be on the court.

Insults, mocking words, teasing sentences that are said with a smile and just enough bite to leave a mark are all par for the course with Atsumu. There’s something satisfying at watching opponents bristle at his words and getting so riled up that it made the game more interesting. ‘Samu scolds him all the time for making matches harder than they should be, but Atsumu knows deep down his brother enjoys it too.

There was also something intriguing about the other boy, he was so different to Tobio  — who never seemed to react to any of Atsumu’s words apart from that one teasing remark about him being a goody two shoes — and he’d wanted to poke the metaphorical bear with a stick so to speak.

Only it had worked too well this time, and Atsumu can only watch helplessly as Gin drags him back to his teammates under Kita’s watchful gaze like some disobedient puppy. Even when the grip on his shirt disappears he can only stand there as his brain works itself up into a frenzy over what happened. 

This is fixable right?

“Yer lookin’ more stupid than usual, and that’s sayin’ something.” ‘Samu’s voice cuts through his panic and he turns to see his brother standing beside him. “Ya better make sure yer head is clear for this one, these guys looked pretty strong from the tapes and ya said their setter went to the same elite camp you did so we can’t underestimate them.”

Brother speak for ‘Hey are you okay? You look like something’s just shattered your concentration and we need you in the right headspace for the match because you’re our incredibly, awesome setter’...alright maybe not exactly that but Atsumu got the gist of it.

“I think I met my soulmate.” He says still in shock from what just happened, he lifts his hand and takes in the beautiful tattoo on his palm that no longer exists as just a set of black lines on his skin.

“What? Yer sure?” He shows ‘Samu his palm and his twin whistles. “Wow, which one is it?”

“Number ten, the little middle blocker, he’s called Hinata Shouyou.” Atsumu babbles out the three facts he knows about his other half and tears his eyes away from the tattoo to the boy on the other side of the court.

‘Samu follows his gaze and slowly blinks twice. If Atsumu was in the right mind he’d be able to see all the cogs working in ‘Samu’s mind and know what he was thinking, Atsumu is not in the right mind and all he can do at the moment is stare at Hinata while his brain screams obscenities at him.

“He’s Kageyama’s partner right? The one who can do that freaky jump?”

Something about the phrase Kageyama’s partners makes Atsumu’s hackles rise. Irritation spiking through his blood at the thought of that goody-two-shoes staking a claim on Atsumu’s soulmate.

“He’s not only Kageyama’s partner ya know, and yeah that’s him the one with that amazing quick.” Already his mind is racing to what it would be like to set for his soulmate, he knows he’s as good — and in some areas better — than Kageyama skill wise and Hinata is a spiker. Spiker and setter a match made in heaven.

“So why’s he lookin’ at ya like ya spat in his drink?”

Ah. He was, wasn’t he? It wasn’t really an intimidating glare, more of a pout really, but it stings and Atsumu tries to wave back in a friendly manner. Hinata turns his nose up and swivels back round to talk to the baldy with volume issues. ‘Samu snorts and this is not the type of brotherly support he needs right now.

“I may have uh....not made a great first impression.”

Unlike Atsumu, Osamu does have a clear mind and it takes him two seconds to piece together what happened.

“Ya insulted him didn’t ya?”

“I mean, insult is such a hard word and—” Whatever he’s about to say is cut off by ‘Samu’s obnoxious laughter and he whirls around to whack him on the shoulder. “Shut up! How was I supposed to know he was my soulmate?”

“I don’t know, but ya could try not being a dick to everyone when ya meet them. That might help.”

Atsumu’s about to respond when coach calls over to tell him to start warming up and he snaps his jaw shut. 

There’s a game to play and he can’t afford to panic too much.

Play now, panic later.

Who knows maybe he might be able to impress Hinata during the match and try to soften his earlier blunder. He palms a ball in his hands and takes a deep breath. Right now the only thing that matters is the game.

And what a game it turns out to be.

As bitter a pill to swallow as the defeat is, it is easily one of the best matches Atsumu has played in. He wanted it to carry on forever, he wanted to play with his team for longer, he wanted to be able to take them to the finals and lift that elusive trophy. He wishes for the third years’ journey to carry on.

But wishes, unlike soulmates, aren’t a guarantee and the prickling in his eyes as he watches Kita descend the stairs is all too real.

He knows that was a match he’ll be thinking about for a long time.

He knows he’s going to do better next year and crush those damned crows into the ground.

He knows he’s in love with Hinata Shouyou after watching him fly higher than anyone he’s ever seen.

* * *

Hinata is on top of the world. He feels jubilant, drunk on victory, hungry for the next challenge and it’s all hitting him at once. The atmosphere here is so different to the gymnasiums he’s played in before. The air is heavy and thrums with energy, the hallways are crowded with people, and he’s never seen so many volleyball players in one place before.

Yamaguchi has to tell him to calm down a number of times but it’s hard okay. He feels like he could jump for days, his skin feels warm from excitement and he wants to do everything at once; the souvenir stalls, the other matches, the game tape of their next opponents. 

Nekoma. They’ll be playing Nekoma.

The battle of the garbage dump is near. He’ll face off against Kenma and—

“Uh Hinata? I think Inarizaki’s setter is trying to get your attention.”

What?

He turns in the direction Yamaguchi is pointing and yep, there he is. Miya Atsumu staring at him from across the corridor. Hinata instinctively scowls and looks away, annoyed at himself for even looking up. 

He ignores the part of him that perks up at the setter’s attention. That promise from the end of their match still rings in his ears.

_ He wants to set for you! _

**S-So what? I don’t care**

_ The number one setter in Japan wants to toss for you! _

**He was a jerk before.**

_ Then he saw you play and saw how awesome you were. _

**He insulted you! And not even to your face, he insulted you to Kagyeama!**

_ Yeah I guess...I still want to hit his tosses though. _

**That’s fair.**

“Oh really?” He does his best to sound nonchalant and deliberately turns his back. “Probably wants to speak to Kageyama again.”

Yamaguchi raises an eyebrow and glances over to where Hinata now knows Atsumu is standing. “I don’t think so he’s staring at you pretty intensely. And didn’t he say something to you at the end of the game?”

Hinata puffs out his chest in pride then immediately berates himself for it.

“Oh did he? I don’t remember.” He lies.

Yamaguchi knows that he lies and if anything looks slightly amused.

“Wow, he must have said something pretty bad to piss you off this much.”

Hinata doesn’t know how to explain the sting in his chest after yet another disparaging comment about his skills. He doesn’t know why this one hurt more and why, even after it was clear that Atsumu thought differently now, he couldn’t let it go.

He hums a non-answer and thinks back to the match.

It was amazing. Every moment feels like it’s been seared into his skull. It was spine tinglingly good, part of him hadn’t wanted it to end, and another part of him knew that one of the reasons it had been so incredible was the boy currently starting holes into the back of his head.

“Well he’s coming this way so I hope you know what you want to say to him.”

“Huh!” He whirls around and comes face to face, or more like face to chest because of course the guy is tall, with Atsumu. 

It’s only been an hour since the match but somehow that had been long enough for Hinata to forget the sheer presence he had. Miya Atsumu was someone you couldn’t ignore when he was in the room.

Though he looks decidedly more nervous than the last time Hinata had seen him. Could it be because he wasn’t standing in his realm of the volleyball court? If Kageyama was a King and Oikawa the Grand King, then Atsumu was an Emperor; imperial, powerful, and glorious.

It was easy to see why he was the best.

“Um...Hi.” Hinata squints up at him, he can feel Yamaguchi move off to the side and doesn’t know if he’s grateful or annoyed at the abandonment.

“Hello?” he replies, unsure what business Atsumu has with him. They finished their match after all. Was he here for revenge? Did he come to make another promise? Is he here to kidnap Hinata to toss to him? This wasn’t happening in a bathroom so it couldn’t be an unfortunate encounter and Yamaguchi was here to protect him.

_ But if he did want to toss to him that would be sorta okay. _

Atsumu rocks back on his heels and it’s only now that HInata can see the light red blush on his face. Was he feeling warm too? He hadn’t said anything after the quiet greeting and Hinata wondered if he was expected to carry on the conversation.

Well too bad because Hinata had better things to do then exchange pleasantries with a meanie. He already did that with Tsukishima and he didn’t have patience for another. He presses his lips together and crosses his arms. Who cares if the guy was tall, intimidating, a fantastic setter, and also kind of good looking.

“Look—”

“I think you’re my soulmate!”

Hinata’s eyes bulge, that was certainly not what he’d expected, and he instinctively clenches his fist. That can't be true. He would have known, would have realised. Atsumu starts to talk but Hinata’s ears ring with static.

He eyes his closed hand like a boobytrapped treasure chest but he’s never backed down from a challenge. His fingers are shaky when he opens them and sucks in a breath at the sight of colour.

It’s beautiful.

He runs a finger over the rich red of the fox’s fur and swears he feels it pulse in response.

“—and sometimes I say stupid things, but hey what guy doesn’t? And then I saw ya play and—”

“Are you only here because I’m your soulmate?” he asks and Atsumu stops to look at him.

“No, it’s not only that. I said I wanted to toss for ya didn’t I?”

That was true and Hinata feels a smile tug at his mouth. 

“You did.” he agrees. “But you were a real jerk.” 

Atsumi winces. “I was.” The admission falls easy from his mouth, “And I’m really sorry. I shoulda kept my mouth shut until after I saw ya play.” He grins and it’s so striking that Hinata feels his heart pound in his chest. “Couldn’t keep my eyes off ya the whole match.”

The tips of Hinata’s ears start to burn and he has to look away, fingers closing around the mark on his hand but gentler than before. “Yeah, well I’m a decoy. If I didn’t get your attention I wasn’t doing my job.”

Atsumu snorts and Hinata looks up at him. He’s met with a gaze that’s filled with a startling amount of intensity and focus, and it’s all aimed at him. It’s a giddy feeling.

“Trust me Shouyou-kun, yer way more than that.”

Hinata doesn’t know what his face looks like but it must be something to make Atsumu smirk and lower his head a few inches.

“So will ya let me make it up to ya?”

Maybe Miya Atsumu isn’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! This is a little gift for my friend Kennedy who has been such a massive support for my writing and even gifted me something herself. So I had to return the favour :) This was a fun little one shot for me to write and I hope you enjoyed it!


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